Distraught Iraqi mother describes seeing ‘migrant boat killer climbing on top of her exhausted daughter’ Ghater, 16, and ‘suffocating her with his knees on her chest’ as she lay nauseous from drinking sea water on sinking vessel

A distraught mother has told police how a migrant strangled her daughter as their boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to investigative statements obtained by MailOnline, the man, identified as Iranian Haukar Ahmadi, 27, attacked Ghater Maylan, 16, as the ship took on water.

In her statement, Mojda Omar, 41, said: ‘Suddenly that man, Haukar, walked towards my daughter and jumped on her. He put both knees on his chest and pressed her body with all his strength.

“I tried to yell at him to stop and get off my daughter, but he just kept doing what he was doing until she died.”

The horrific incident happened earlier this week when the boat carrying the group, packed with around 70 migrants, sank in waters off the southern Italian coast after leaving the Turkish port of Bodrum.

Some migrants were rescued by a merchant ship that then transferred them to a coast guard unit. They disembarked in Roccella Ionica, southern Italy, June 17, 2024

However, police told MailOnline that the woman did not report her daughter had been raped, despite earlier claims widely reported in the Italian media, including by the respected AGI news agency, which were attributed to a mistranslation.

Gianfranco Minissale, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘The woman is clearly traumatised by what she saw happen to her daughter and by the journey they made from Turkey.

‘We are investigating the claims of murder and the man has been arrested, but we have not received the girl’s body.

“The mother has been interviewed and we will interview the other survivors as well, but at the moment only murder is being investigated. We are not investigating rape, there is a translation error.

“An investigating judge has validated the arrest and the man is in jail while the investigation continues. It is a very traumatic case for the officers involved and the woman.”

Ahmadi is said to have “vented his anger” on Ghater after seeing his own daughter drown as the ship sank, with only twelve people rescued by the Italian coastguard, including Ahmadi and Mojda.

Only half of the drowned have been found. There are many children among them. Images from the Italian coast guard show the boat submerged off the coast of Rocella Ionica, in the ‘toe’ of Italy.

According to police, Ahmadi’s wife and daughter drowned and he is now being held in Catanzaro prison. The investigation is ongoing and Mojda is in a local hospital.

Search teams have recovered some of the bodies of the approximately seventy people on board the sailboat

In her statement, Mojda added: “Until then, before the attack, my daughter was talking and doing fine.

‘Although she had drunk a lot of seawater in the days before, was sick and had little strength, I told her that we were almost there and that she had to stay strong.

“Then this man threw himself on her and I didn’t hear her anymore. I think she died immediately, because after that suffocation she didn’t show any signs of life.”

According to police who were present when she gave her statement, Mojda burst into tears: ‘My son Naser went to check on his sister after Haukar had suffocated her and realised she was not breathing.

‘None of us could do anything because we had no strength, because we were exhausted.’

The Coast Guard vessel can be seen approaching the sinking yacht and disappearing underwater

A survivor is being treated by medical teams after being rescued from the shipwreck on June 17

Mojda told police that other migrants had died aboard the half-submerged ship and that he had trampled their bodies to get to her daughter.

She added: ‘I thought afterwards that he was going to kill me too, because he put his knees on my throat.

‘He had been acting strangely since the beginning of the trip. At first I thought he wanted to rape my daughter, but then I thought he would calm down.

He then argued with my son as the days passed because my son asked him to help move the body of my husband who died on board but he refused.

‘Three hours before he killed my daughter, she was wearing trousers and Haukar shouted at her to take them off. He wanted to see her naked.”

Antonio Cavo, who has been appointed to defend Ahmadi, said: ‘At this moment my client has not given me permission to speak to the media. Once I have seen him and spoken to him, I can speak.’